If you live close to the Gulf coast then you should be pretty used to the idea of hurricanes by now! In this area winds commonly reach as high as 100+ miles per hour, this high wind can last for many hours. This wind causes trees to fall over, and also causes damage to houses. In particular these winds can blow out your windows.

People living in these areas have come up with ingenious ways of protecting their lives and their property. One of the most successful ways of protecting your property is to board it up before the storm hits. The doors and windows should be covered using protective sheets which stops the glass from shattering. This also helps to keep the rain out, and so the house has a much better chance of survival. can do a lot to protect your home.

Many lumber yards in the area sell a lot of wood during the time before the storm as people are buying things to protect their homes with. Some people will wait until the last minute, and so rush out to buy plywood and other materials. Due to waiting until the last minute plywood will be very expensive, not to mention it will make your house look awful, not that anyone will mind when a storm hits! You will then have to take the boards off the doors and windows after the storm has finished, this is a very time consuming process.

Some people have come up with a much easier way to protect their homes. Instead of boarding up their windows they have installed protective shutters and storm windows to their properties. These shutters and windows are capable of protecting the home from damage when a storm hits, plus they do not look ugly. These can be left up, you do not have to pay any money again when a storm hits. It's so easy to close these shutters when compared to nailing sheets of plywood to your home.

There are several different types of storm shutters:

- Exterior storm shutters - These are designed to be functional but also fairly decorative. They protect your windows from wind and any flying debris. These are very useful if you go on holiday for a few weeks as they can secure your home. You can make your own storm shutters using wood if required. - You can also purchase pre-manufactured storm shutters, these are typically made out of wood or a heavy grade of vinyl. These are available in many different styles, sizes and colors. - Rolling style shutters are also available, these are typically manufactured from aluminum. These shutters are also useful at controlling the amount of light let into the property.

All of these types of shutter are fairly easy to install for a competent DIYer! Most popular shutter designs are made out of tongue and groove, which makes them easy to fit together:

1. Start by measuring the width and height of your window. Your window may not be square, so be sure to check at all edges.

2. Start to assemble the boards together, use clamps to hold them in place. Cut them to length, but make sure they are half an inch shorter than the height of the window.

3. Paint them whatever color you like

4. Hang on your house using nice hinges

Storms aren't fun, but that doesn't mean that they have to damage your home. By investing in some of these simple ideas you can save yourself a lot of money in the future.